Harmless joke
by Bounty Hunter Darcy
Summary: Naruto pulls a prank of a personal nature on Sasuke and pays the price. NaruSasu
1. Chapter 1

Harmless joke turned bad

Author: Darcy Black-Valentine

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...except the plotline and a Gaara keychain.

Scroll 01

Sasuke looked in utter disbelief at his boyfriend's face. Naruto was grinning while the rest of the school was laughing at the raven.

"You-you recorded...?" he asked.

Naruto's brow furrowed a little and he said,

"Yeah, but it's just a joke."

The thing that was making the student body laugh at Sasuke was the noises over the intercom. They sounded very much like a teenage boy getting a seriously good sex session...and that's what it was. The previous night, Sasuke and Naruto had made love for the first time in their three-year relationship and Sasuke had been uke...something that he wasn't exactly begging for, but he couldn't deny that it felt good.

What was being played over the intercom was a taped recording of Sasuke and Naruto's lovemaking...every moan, groan and gasp was being heard over the speakers all over the school.

Sasuke felt tears burn in his eyes and he turned on the spot, running from the building with Naruto close behind.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, hold on!"

Sasuke didn't stop until Naruto grabbed his elbow and turned him around.

"Sasuke, it was just a joke."

Sasuke felt his temper rise even further and asked,

"What was...the sex itself or the fact that it's now being heard all over the school?"

Naruto shook his head.

"The sex wasn't a joke, it was...incredible...but, this whole thing with the intercom was just a joke...just a harmless joke."

Sasuke felt the tears fall down his face and he asked,

"A harmless joke? What, you think this is funny?"

Naruto looked confused.

"Yeah...don't you?"

Sasuke sniffed and said,

"Oh yeah, it's hilarious. Next I suppose that you'll be telling me that you video recorded the session too and planted DVDs all over the school!"

Naruto shook his head, finally understanding Sasuke's pain.

"Look, I can fix it...I'll..."

"What? Do what? Beat into a bloody pulp anyone who mentions this so-called joke?"

Naruto shook his head again and said,

"No, just..."

"NO! It's over! We're through do you hear me? Through!"

He turned to leave but Naruto grabbed him around the waist and held him tight. Tears stung his eyes too as he begged and pleaded.

"Sasuke, please...don't do this...I'll fix it...please, don't leave me..."

A small crowd of students had gathered outside the school to watch the fight and they weren't disappointed.

Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the stomach and pulled out of his grasp. He turned to see Naruto slightly doubled over, holding his abdomen, tears were pouring down the blond boy's face as he looked up at his boyfriend.

"Please Sasuke...it was just a..."

"A joke?! Yeah, I heard. I love the fact that you think that embarrassing me on a public scale is funny!"

Naruto stood straight up and said,

"It wasn't my idea, okay? Someone else told me to do it."

This, far from reassuring Sasuke, made him angrier.

"So, someone else told you to do it, so you thought 'Okay, let's do it! After all, it's just a "harmless joke"?!"

Sasuke was beyond furious. Naruto shook his head and held his hands up in a form of surrender.

"I'm sorry...Look, I'll fix it...I promise."

Tears were still cascading down Sasuke's face as he asked,

"What good are your promises? Your promises aren't worth _shit_ to me!"

Naruto felt his heart breaking as he watched Sasuke's face fill with angry color. The blond had no idea what else to say to soothe the distressed raven...so he repeated his apology.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Nothing like that will ever happen again."

Sasuke smirked in an evil sort of way and said,

"You're damn right it won't...because we're through. Don't ever come near me, don't talk to me, and don't even glance in my direction. I'm done with you. Find another guy to fuck."

He turned and started to walk away but Naruto stopped him for a third time. When Sasuke turned to look, he saw that Naruto's once beautiful face was marred with tear tracks and even as he looked, fresh tears were forming and sliding down the blond's scarred cheeks.

"Please...I love you...don't do this..."

"Don't tell me what to do, Naruto Uzumaki," he said in a deadly whisper. "Don't even fucking try."

"Please...I love you..."

That made Sasuke the angriest he'd been all day...heck, the angriest he'd ever been in his life. With a surprising amount of strength, he wrenched his arm out of Naruto's grasp, pulled back his left hand and punched Naruto in the jaw.

Naruto was knocked off his feet and lay on the ground, holding his jaw and spitting out blood as he tried to stand. Sasuke kicked him hard in the diaphragm and yelled,

"If you loved me then you wouldn't have done this! So, fuck you and your stupid 'harmless joke'!"

Sasuke turned on his heel and ran full speed down the sidewalk, tears still flying from his eyes.

Naruto lay curled up on the ground, panting and sobbing. Kiba walked forward from the crowd and knelt down next to him. He helped Naruto up and asked,

"You okay, man?"

Naruto looked at the spot that Sasuke had just been standing and slowly shook his aching head. Then, he seemed to realize who was supporting him and shoved Kiba up against the fence that surrounded the school.

"You told me that it would be just a joke! You told me that he wouldn't care! You said that he'd be laughing with me!" he shouted.

Kiba held his hands up in surrender and said,

"Relax, man. It wasn't my idea to tell you, I swear."

"Who's was it then?"

Kiba gave himself away by glancing back at the crowd of people where a girl with a long blond ponytail was standing at the forefront. Naruto looked toward where Kiba was looking and saw Ino Yamanaka. She realized that she had been found out and ran back into the building, to the safety of the girls' bathroom.

Naruto glanced back at the end of the street where Sasuke had disappeared and fell to his knees, his head in his hands. He sobbed unashamedly into his hands as the crowd of students gradually dispersed and principal Tsunade came out and ran to Naruto.

She knelt down and held Naruto to her as he bawled like a baby and stroked his hair. She knew what Naruto did get what he deserved, but didn't think that Sasuke would actually go as far as to degrade him in front of half of the student body.

Sasuke, meanwhile, ran up to a building and pounded relentlessly on the front door. A girl with a high black ponytail opened it and she asked,

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke didn't feel like explaining, so instead, he walked in and as soon as the door had closed behind the girl, launched himself onto her and sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder.

She stroked his hair and carefully maneuvered them onto the couch where she held him... wondering what on Earth could had caused the stoic Sasuke Uchiha to cry.

After about an hour, Sasuke explained everything that had happened and the girl listened intently. After he finished, the girl wiped his tears away and said,

"It's okay now...he won't hurt you again."

Sasuke leaned back against the arm of the couch and said,

"The weird thing is, I still love him."

He looked up at the girl with pleading eyes and asked,

"Darcy, what do I do?"

Darcy shrugged a little and said,

"There's nothing much you can do right now. Just take some time and think about all of this...if you still love Naruto at the end of that time, then you tell him."

Sasuke nodded and allowed Darcy to hold him again. It felt different from when Naruto held him, and the scent was all wrong, but at that moment, it felt good to feel like he had at least someone who understood him and knew what he was feeling.

"Thanks Darcy."

She smiled and said,

"No problem."

As Sasuke fell asleep that night, he began to wonder if he would ever even look at Naruto again. They hadn't been apart for a day yet and Sasuke missed him already. But a part of him told him that he was better off without Naruto...that Naruto would move on...kiss someone else...screw someone else...

That last thought made his heart ache, but, he thought as he rolled over and faced the window, that was reality...not everything in life could have a fairy tale ending...even if they do seem too good to be true.

Me: Whew...5 pages. I think that might be the longest I've ever typed. Anyway, please read and review as I really do love feedback. Constructive criticism will be accepted, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows for s'mores.

Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto...I just borrowed the characters for my own entertainment.


	2. Chapter 2

Harmless joke turned bad

Author: Darcy Black-Valentine

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...except the plotline and a Gaara keychain.

Scroll 02

~Time Skip: October of the following school year~

Naruto leaned up against the alley wall, panting and spitting out blood. Before him stood three people. They were all grinning maliciously and taunting him.

"You'll pay for hurting Sasuke like that."

Naruto received a blow to the diaphragm and doubled over, holding his stomach. Another of the people tipped Naruto's face up and held the bridge of the blond's nose in between his thumb and forefinger. He twisted his fingers sharply and with a sickening crack, broke the fragile bone beneath his fingers.

Naruto bit back a yell and gave only a gasp of pain when the only female of the group pushed his head back against the brick wall. She grabbed him around his throat and held him up in the air with surprising strength on her part.

"Kin, we can't kill him."

Kin looked over at one of the boys and said,

"I know, Dosu. I just want the little brat to suffer."

The other boy laughed and said,

"Keep him good and still, Kin."

The third boy stepped forward and pulled out a pocketknife. He used it to shred Naruto's shirt and slice up the skin underneath just deep enough to bleed but not fatally wound.

Kin dropped Naruto onto the ground and the blond hissed as his back scraped against the wall.

"Nice job Zaku," Kin said appreciatively.

Dosu picked Naruto up by the front of his shredded shirt and looked in the glazed blue eyes.

"There's just one thing left that I want to do," he said, looking at Zaku. "Hold him facing away from me."

Zaku did as he was told and Dosu grabbed Naruto's right arm. He twisted it back and didn't stop twisting until it cracked and Naruto finally yelled. The three tormentors smiled victoriously and dropped the injured blond onto the ground.

"We'll see you tomorrow, punk," Zaku said.

Naruto lay there, face down on the filthy ground for a few more moments until he was sure that his attackers were gone. He stood painfully and limped out of the alley. He looked in the direction of the school and a tear came to his eye.

During this whole attack, he had not once shed a tear, but now...as he looked toward the place where his beloved Uchiha sat, no doubt top in his class, he cried silently. He turned and walked home, a slight limp in his step.

~ The next day: Konoha High School: Fourth period: Gym~

Sasuke leaned back against the bleachers and looked at the ceiling. No one had dared to mention the joke that had been played on him one year ago, but the memory of it still haunted him.

"Sasuke?"

He looked down and saw Sakura standing there. She had replaced Naruto as Sasuke's best friend even though Sasuke was determined not to trust anyone ever again.

"Yeah?"

Sakura shuffled her feet and seemed to be gathering her courage. Finally, she looked determinedly up into Sasuke's eyes and said,

"I'm worried."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a little. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what she was worrying about and he knew that he didn't like it.

"About what?"

Sakura looked out at the kids playing volleyball and said,

"Naruto."

Sasuke snorted.

"That dobe doesn't need worrying about."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke and said simply,

"Well, I just thought that since he hasn't been in school since the beginning of the year that maybe you would be worried about him."

Sasuke couldn't deny that he had been slightly concerned that Naruto hadn't bothered to show up at all this year, but he wouldn't tell Sakura this. He kept his mask of indifference and said,

"I don't care if he's getting beaten to death...as far as I'm concerned, he can drop dead."

Sakura flinched at the iciness in his tone and said,

"All right then."

She went back to join her friends out on the gym floor and Sasuke resumed his glaring at the ceiling. It wasn't true...what he had said... he was genuinely concerned for his former boyfriend's well being and made a mental note to go over to the dobe's house later and check on him...on the pretense of giving him his homework assignments of course.

Sasuke left the gym and went to his next class, though as he tried his hardest to pay attention, his thoughts kept straying toward his old flame.

It was with a determined air that he left the school later that day and began the familiar walk to Naruto's house. As he neared an alley, Dosu, Zaku and Kin exited it. They looked surprised at the sight of him, and he of them.

"What are you three doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Zaku grinned evilly and said,

"Giving some punk what was coming to him."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and watched as they turned without a further word and walked away. Sasuke waited until they were out of sight before stepping into the alley and looking down at a human-sized lump on the ground. He gasped when he recognized a mop of blond hair and knelt down.

"Naruto?"

He helped Naruto into a sitting position and saw that he was covered in dirt, grime, something that looked like bits of garbage, and blood.

"What happened to you?"

Naruto looked up at his ex- and closed his eyes. There was an open wound on the side of his head and he was bleeding copiously.

"No! Naruto, open your eyes!"

Naruto did as he was told but didn't say anything to Sasuke. The raven moved Naruto's right arm and Naruto whimpered. Sasuke looked down and saw something that looked suspiciously like...

He gasped again and dropped Naruto's arm, earning him a yelp and a half-hearted glare. The bone that was normally inside Naruto's arm was poking through the skin. Sasuke looked at Naruto in shock with his mouth slightly open.

Naruto was only upright because of the dumpster he was propped against but from what Sasuke could see of him, he was a total mess. In addition to the bone sticking through the skin and the wound to the side of his head, Sasuke could see fresh slice marks on his upper chest and shoulders as well as a large bruise that covered the expanse of the blond teen's stomach and chest on his ribcage. Naruto's nose also bore signs of being broken recently, which Sasuke could understand…breaking bones was Dosu's specialty.

Sasuke tucked an arrant strand of grimy hair out of Naruto's face and felt tears in his eyes. Naruto looked up at Sasuke with the most pitiful look on his face that Sasuke had ever seen.

Sasuke cupped Naruto's scarred cheek and the blond leaned into the raven's touch, slightly jarring his already bleeding head wound. He groaned in pain and Sasuke finally snapped out of his daze. He pulled out his phone and called the paramedics, begging them to hurry up.

He held the phone to his shoulder and said,

"I know I said I didn't care, but…"

Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of this statement but at that moment, his vision was blurring and he couldn't really hear anything. His face was white as chalk and Sasuke had to hold him now to keep him upright.

"Naruto…Kami-sama will the damn ambulance hurry up?!"

At long last, Sasuke heard sirens. He hung up his phone and helped Naruto up, sagging slightly under Naruto's muscular build.

"S-Sas…hurts…my fault…"

Sasuke stood in the alley entrance and held Naruto up, not really comprehending what Naruto was trying to say.

"I know it hurts, Naruto but you'll be fine soon," he said.

Naruto shook his head as the ambulance approached from around the corner.

"No…you hurt…my fault…"

Sasuke still didn't understand, but knew that Naruto shouldn't be talking. His voice was strained and there was a trickle of blood flowing down his chin onto his orange and black sweatshirt.

"Shhh, Naruto…talk to me later."

The paramedics helped Sasuke lift Naruto onto a stretcher and it was lifted into the ambulance. The raven climbed into the ambulance next to Naruto and watched as the blond finally lost consciousness.

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time that he cried, but as he watched Naruto's labored breathing, he definitely felt tears going down his cheeks.


End file.
